


Reunion

by amaryllis (Lilly0)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Romance, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Romance, Feelings, Feels, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Protective Steve, Steve Feels, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Being Tony, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 06:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14827289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilly0/pseuds/amaryllis
Summary: One evening Steve coincidentally meets Tony while grocery shopping. They make a pattern out of this: from now on they "coincidentally" meet every week, same time, same place. All random and casual. Will they be able to get over...themselves?(typical Stony banter included of course ^^)





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> This is post Civil War. There are the obvious spoilers for Civil War here (just in case someone hasn't seen the movie yet)
> 
> Bingo prompt used: Reunion

Steve puts a package with chewing gums, a bag with tortilla chips Sam wanted so badly, and three packages with tuna sandwiches on the counter.

 

“Is that all?” the man at the counter of the small supermarket asks.

 

Steve is about to answer when the door swings open, the bell chiming annoyingly, and a voice calls through the store. “One cup of latte macchiato, please.”

 

Steve would have recognized the voice out of thousands, and for a second it feels like his heart stops beating.

 

The guy who belongs to the voice approaches the counter now, placing a bag with chocolate cookies there, and a bottle of Coke Zero. Long fingers, Steve thinks, he has beautiful hands and elegant fingers.

 

For a moment the man’s eyes skim over his face, and for a split moment it seems like he really doesn’t recognize him – Steve can’t blame him, he has changed quite a bit. Beard, darker hair, looks kinda washed out – but then the eyes suddenly move back, gaze pinned to Steve’s face again. “You…?”

 

Steve smiles a bit. “Hi Tony.”

 

Tony stays quiet.

 

“One cup of coffee for me too,” Steve orders, mainly to diffuse the awkwardness.

 

~~~

 

The awkwardness doesn’t get better though once they paid their coffees and snacks. They sip their coffee outside, next to each other in silence, like none of them wants to say or do something that will make things worse. At the same time Steve doesn’t want to insult Tony or embarrass himself by just chickening out and walking away. He is always going to be Tony’s friend, even if Tony might see things differently.

 

“So,” Steve says to break the nerve-wracking silence. “Weather is quite bad recently, right?”

 

He slaps himself mentally. What kind of idiot talks about the weather in such a situation?

 

Tony throws him an inscrutable glance. “Yeah, pretty humid. Lots of thunderstorms,” he answers to Steve’s surprise.

 

Silence lingers above them again, and a glance in his cup tells Steve they almost finished their coffees. “How’s Rhodey?”

 

“Recovering. Slowly. But he is recovering.” Tony sighs and takes a cigarette out of his pocket.

 

“You should really stop.”

 

Tony throws him a glance, there is something in his eyes that Steve can’t read. He wonders what it is. Tony looks like he wants to say something, but then he just lights his cigarette.

 

“And how are you?” Steve finally asks what he wanted to ask from the first moment on.

 

“As always, I guess.” Tony waves with the bag with his groceries. “Need to get going.”

 

“Since when are you into chocolate cookies and Coke Zero?” Steve asks with a smile.

 

Tony chuckles. Finally. “They are for Peter.”

 

Peter? Who the heck is Peter? Steve wants to ask, wants to know if Tony has met someone, someone who likes cookies, someone who is at his side, someone he doesn’t argue with nonstop. But he doesn’t ask, doesn’t dare to.

 

“Hey Tony,” he says before Tony can leave. “I’m living close by. I’m here for grocery shopping on a regular basis.”

 

He doesn’t know why he said it or what he wanted to achieve by saying it. He doesn’t even know what to expect.

 

Tony looks at him, and for a  moment Steve can swear he looks torn, like he wants to say something but can’t. “Is that so?” he says casually. Then he leaves.

 

~~~

 

“About the weather?” Sam looks like he isn’t sure whether he should laugh at him or hit him. “You coincidentally meet him again, and all you do is talk about the weather?”

 

“It was awkward,” Steve says, like this is actually an answer to Sam’s complaint.

 

“Hm,” Sam makes.

 

“I told him I live close by,” Steve admits.

 

Sam nods. “That’s better for a conversation.”

 

Steve blinks. “I thought you would be against me telling him where I live.”

 

“Tony is not going to sell you out, Steve.” Sam shrugs. “That’s not the type of person he is.” He pauses. “It’s all your decision here, Steve, really. No need to think about me.”

 

“I wonder if he even wants to see me?” Steve muses.

 

“Because of the accords?” Sam laughs. “Tony is a professional in everything he does. And a genius. I’m pretty sure he has found a way to deal with what happened. And if he hasn’t, he is still not going to act on a primary school level about it. I mean, not that we all didn’t do that already… but I’m confident to say, we hopefully grew out of it.”

 

Steve looks at his friend thoughtfully. That’s not it, he thinks. That’s not the problem.

 

“What’s bothering you?” Sam wants to know.

 

“Bucky killed his parents,” Steve hears himself say. He doesn’t know why he is involving someone else in this knowledge. But he needs to talk to someone. Anyone. “He didn’t know what he was doing, but still…should have told Tony before.”

 

“You knew?” Sam asks.

 

Steve nods, rubbing over his neck. “I did. Guess I didn’t have the guts to tell him.”

 

“So that’s what happened,” Sam states. And Steve will be forever grateful for the way he says it. He isn’t judging, just stating a fact.

 

~~~

 

Next week at the same time Steve goes to the small supermarket again. He isn’t sure what he is expecting, but his heart beats nervously.

 

~~~

 

He buys a coffee and sips it outside. Then he buys another one. And a hamburger. When he has waited for over an hour, he sighs though. Tony is not going to come. Maybe he didn’t understand the invitation behind Steve’s words, or maybe he did, and is just not coming.

 

Steve is about to empty the rest of his coffee in a trash can when he sees a shadow approaching him. Steve looks up. “You are late.”

 

“I can’t believe you really waited,” Tony states. He pauses, about to say something else, but then he just keeps silent and leans against the wall next to Steve.

 

“Well, you came,” Steve says simply.

 

“I didn’t mean to,” Tony admits. “But when I thought about it… I figured you are so naïve, you would come and wait for real.”

 

Steve snorts. No one has ever called him naïve. He hands Tony a cup with cold coffee. “Yet, you came,” he states the obvious.

 

To his surprise Tony looks embarrassed for a moment.

 

They sip the rest of their coffee in silence.

 

~~~

 

“You didn’t talk?” Natasha asks in disbelief. “Not at all?”

 

“We said hello,” Steve points out. “And stated that we are here now.”

 

“Ah,” she makes. “And how long were you standing next to each other in silence?”

 

“An hour,” Steve says. “Maybe two.”

 

Tony bought muffins. For Peter again?

 

~~~

 

“Who’s Peter?” Steve asks, not able to contain his worry and curiosity again.

 

“A 15-year old brat I’m mentoring,” Tony answers in mock-annoyance. Steve knows him well enough to know he obviously feels fond of this kid.

 

He is relieved though to hear it’s just a kid, not…someone else.

 

“How’s Bucky?”

 

Tony’s question comes so much as a surprise that Steve stares at him, not only for a second but probably two… ten… more. “What?”

 

“Don’t make me repeat it,” Tony states in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

“I just… am surprise you mention him,” Steve points out, scanning Tony’s face thoughtfully.

 

“You asked about Rhodey,” Tony retorts.

 

Not quite the same, Steve thinks. Actually completely unrelated to Steve’s question about Rhodey. “He is hiding, staying away from the world until his issues will be solved. He doesn’t want to be a danger anymore.”

 

Steve is sure that Tony knows that, he probably also knows where Bucky is. It’s Tony Stark after all. So, does that mean, he asked because he just wanted to be… nice?

 

“I’ve been thinking,” Tony says.

 

“About what?”

 

“What if it had been Rhodey…” The glance in Tony’s eyes is a thoughtful one, like he is pondering over this question for real. “What had I done to protect Rhodey? How far would I have gone?”

 

~~~

 

“So, what did you talk about this time?” Sam and Natasha look at him curiously. They are playing a stupid card game, with rules they both made up on a whim and are changing how they see fit. When they both look at him expectantly, Steve wonders if he and Tony just became their freshest and juiciest gossip. Apparently their life is that boring.

 

“I’m not sure,” he answers honestly.

 

“You are not sure what you talked about?” Natasha asks.

 

_I’m not sure what Tony wanted to tell me._

 

~~~

 

“What if it were Rhodey who killed your friend’s parents and who might turn crazy again?”

 

Tony looks up at him in surprise before he takes a sip from his café latte. “I don’t know.”

 

Steve adds some sugar to his black coffee. “I don’t regret doing what I thought was right.”

 

“Me neither.”

 

“But I regret fighting against you,” Steve admits.

 

“I know,” Tony looks at the spot behind Steve’s head.

 

“Do you regret fighting me?” Steve pushes. Sometimes he wonders why it’s so difficult to talk to Tony about such things, to make him admit things, make him open up. Maybe his arrogance and attitude are just a way to protect himself. Steve frowns, now that this thought hit him he actually thinks it’s true.

 

Tony sighs. “Maybe I do?”

 

“Well you are still here,” Steve analyses and lets the words hang between them.

 

“How do you know it’s really me talking to you though?” Tony raises one of his eyebrows. “Tony Stark would be capable of building a robot, looking and acting exactly like he would.” He smirks. “How do you know you haven’t been talking to a robot all the time?”

 

Enough with the excuses, Steve thinks in annoyance. He turns to face Tony, taking in the lines around his eyes, his deep eyes with intelligence and wit shining through them all the time. He is attractive, Steve thinks. In his own way. He maybe doesn’t know it, but he is. Or… this is Tony, so he might know it. But, since this is Tony, he might think others only find him attractive because of his money. Dang, this is complicated.

 

Steve leans forward, capturing Tony’s lips before Tony can even react. He tastes like coffee, and smoke… He smiles when he moves back again, his smile growing when Tony glares at him. He dodges Tony’s punch skilfully and chuckles. “Very certain now that it’s you and not a robot.”

 

~~~

 

He avoids meeting Sam or Natasha or anyone else this evening.

 

~~~

 

The next time Steve comes to their usual meeting point at the supermarket, he sees a note sticking to a spot on the wall, exactly where the both of them normally drink their coffee at.

 

_This place sucks. Meet me at the bar down the road._

 

 _The bar down the road_ happens to be a vegan burger restaurant. “You are kidding,” Tony chuckles while sitting down at the table Tony is already waiting at.

 

“Not my fault that you are living in such a hipster area,” Tony comments dryly. “Every drink they have is with lemon grass.”

 

“Just order something for the both of us.” Steve closes the menu and leans back. He is still not accustomed to the new trends and customs of 21st century. What the heck does superfood even mean?

 

Tony snorts. “So that it’s my fault when it tastes awful?”

 

“Well,” Steve retorts. “Everything else is always my fault anyways.” He was going for a light and cheerful tone, but he has to admit he missed it.

 

“You think I’m always blaming you for everything?” Tony asks sharply, taking the hint. Of course he does. “Like the weather, natural catastrophes, the salty soup I had today for lunch?”

 

“Come on, Tony,” Steve sighs. “That’s not what I meant to say.” Why the heck does it always have to be so difficult between them?

 

“If it isn’t difficult-” Tony says, and it’s only then that Steve realizes he said the last words out loud. “-we will be left with nothing.”

 

“What do you mean?” Steve wants to know.

 

Tony doesn’t answer.

 

Steve repeats the question again when they leave the restaurant, and again when Tony doesn’t answer, not ready to give in this time and let everything remain unspoken again. When Tony turns to face him, he almost believes he is going to be mad. But to his surprise Tony’s face is open, the emotions in his eyes real and raw. “Steve, I have forgiven you long ago, because there is nothing to forgive. I’m supposed to be a responsible adult, and I made conscious decisions. I hope you can forgive me too. I’m mad you lied to me, but I’m glad you prevented me from turning into a murderer. I’m glad you stopped me from killing you, because if I would have had more time to plan it, I might have succeeded. And I would have never forgiven myself for losing you. I still think Bucky is a danger to the world, and I doubt you have control over him. But it’s not Bucky’s fault for being manipulated, yet he still killed my parents, and I just can’t forget this image, the movie repeating itself in my mind every night. I need more time. I showed up late the first time we did-“ He makes a wide gesture with his hand. “- this here, because I was about to chicken out. When we argue and don’t communicate well, we are safe, it’s our comfort zone. I probably love you, Steve, but I’m scared that the only place we work is in bed.” Tony opens the door to his taxi. “So, tell me, Steve. Now that I made it less difficult, what is left for us?”

 

~~~

 

“It’s only later that night after he went on a secret mission with Sam that Steve suddenly realizes what Tony said.

 

~~~

 

“Is it true?” He grabs Tony’s arm and tugs him along.

 

Tony blinks. “Steve, what are you doing? I just wanted to grab a quick lunch and you are abducting me?” He grins. “Did you actually wait the whole day, until I left the building? You just reached a new level of cheesy.”

 

Indeed Steve did wait. He doesn’t answer though, just pulling Tony along, away from people who might recognize them.

 

“Is it true?” he repeats, once they reached a quiet backyard alley. “Do you love me?”

 

Tony’s eyes widen in disbelief. “After all I said, this is what you chose to hear and remember?

 

Steve takes Tony’s face between his hands. “Tony, are we doing this here because we like each other or because we just _work so well in bed_?”

 

“I told you what I think,” Tony says surprisingly serious. He grabs Steve’s arms that are still holding his face and squeezes them. “I wouldn’t be here if I hated you.”

 

Steve smiles slightly. It’s so like Tony to voice his feelings like that. “I love you too.”

 

Tony snorts. “Why do you always have to be so straight-forward? Cliché super-hero! It’s annoying, you know?”

 

Steve chuckles in amusement. “I want us to give this here a chance.”

 

“You hate my guts sometimes,” Tony points out. “You aren’t going to stand my attitude. You never could.”

 

“You can’t stand my attitude either.”

 

“We just fought each other. Battled each other. I was close to killing you, and so were you. You left me behind, wounded, and if you hadn’t and I won against you, I would have left you behind.”

 

“Yeah, I now,” Steve answers quietly. “I was there.”

 

Tony sighs, and it’s so rare that he is actually the responsible thoughtful one that Steve knows for sure, he just can’t let him go.

 

“I know what you think,” Steve says. He leans closer into Tony’s space, irrationally happy when he feels Tony’s arms wrapped around his waist. It’s this moment he knows he has won. He just knows. “I want to give us a chance.”

 

“What if it escalates again?” Tony wants to know. “What if you will be pissed off by what I do, find my decisions reckless?”

 

“Then I’ll do what I normally do,” Steve comments dryly.

 

“And what’s that?”

 

Steve grins. “Take you to bed of course.”

 

Just that now he knows it won’t just end there.

**Author's Note:**

> All these post-Civil War angst drives me nuts. Up to now I still don't know whose side to take when it's about the Accords. But emotionally I think I'm more drawn to Tony's side at the end, because wow...that's a blow to take. But I love the Cap too. So many twisted feelings. Infinity War 2, come and solve my angst! *lol*
> 
> What do you think? 
> 
> I think I love Tony a bit too much XD
> 
> As always, feedback and comments are more than appreciated <3 <3


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